Times Top 5: Cellphones as Cooking Tools

We're still grocery-list-on-scraps-of-paper people, but more and more cooks are using their cellphones to streamline their shopping, searching recipes in the grocery aisles and checking sustainable seafood charts. What about you? That's just one of the topics in today's Times dining section—there's 15-minute fried chicken and a new way to roast beets, too...

1. Do you use your cell phone while you cook? It's not just for keeping track of your grocery list. Chefs convert measurements and home cooks use cute little apps to time eggs. We did love the details about the firefighter finding recipes that would allow him to use his new wok and kitchen torch.

4. Roasting beets quickly for a great winter salad. We love this method of roasting whole beets, but Melissa Clark argues for a different approach. A friend taught her to peel and dice the raw beets, then roast them. They take less time, get caramelized all over, and don't stain your hands as much.